Chit Chat Garden ( 2017 )

Smar Tarse - I too am growing Sir Henry this year.  It looks an interesting colour/pattern.   Having grown sweet peas for many years my two varieties of choice are "White Supreme" (very long stems and easy to get 4 or 5 blooms to a stem even without cordoning) AND "Robert Uvedale" (large frilly pink blooms with excellent fragrance).

I got involved with a local foodbank last year that was growing things in pots. I asked to put in a few raised beds and they loved the idea as it involved the community. I spotted a grant we could apply for and we got a polytunnel, soil, fruit trees, more raised beds ect, near £5k's worth.

I've now my own 8' x 4' raised bed to look after which isn't much in size but I plan on supplying myself with salads and some root veg. I also plan a few fruit bushes in pots. It's about as much as I can manage for an hour or 2 a week.

What worked last year: Carrots, Beetroot, Spring Onions, Salad Leaves like rocket, spinach etc.

What didn't work: Outdoor Tomatoes, Courgettes, Brussel Sprouts (ended up with a fungus), Onions, Potatoes in Pots - a lot of problems were caused by no outdoor water supply.

Things like peas and beans were OK but not really as productive as I hoped, I'll try them in pots this year.

Any suggestions as to enrich my soil as it's only 8x4?

sixtwosix - i grew peppers outside in pots last year, it was my first try. I only got a handful on each plant. Most didn't change from green and were bitter, the others went a chocolate brown colour FAIL

I have two different varieties to try this time, (hot) Razzamatazz and (sweet) Romano Mixed I will pot these seeds tomorrow.

Any tips for us ?

blackbarn - I started some Sweet Pea in the polytunnel late last year on the advice of an experienced grower. They were looking quite healthy right up until this week when something has chomped holes in the leaves.

I can't remember what variety they were, the uv light has wiped the "permanent" marker from the labels 

Still got my feet up, it's too cold and wet.
I bought a James Grieve apple tree and a Williams Bon Chretien pear but haven't planted them out yet.

Ovalman - You can use a general purpose liquid fertiliser for the pour it over method. I would also sprinkle over handfuls of Blood, Fish and Bone. 

You have to be careful where the horse manure comes from, some can contain herbicide weedkiller passed over from the hay they are fed. This can affect veg crops.

If I was growing fruit and veg, I wouldn't bother with the stuff I can get in the supermarkets, but the rarer types they don't provide.

I'm a rosarian, which sounds posh but it isn't.  Incidentally, as Sir Henry Cecil has been mentioned, you might be interested that his favourite rose was
one called 'Reine des Violettes'. [He told me].   I grow it too.  Enjoy your gardening year.

Thanks to all who have contributed to these garden threads over the years - I have learned a lot 

I get my horse manure from a couple of houses nearby which have horses, paddocks and stables - 50p a bag is a bargain compared to £15 for a bucket of chickenshyte pellets

I also have 2 compost bins on the go which all the teabags, peelings, dead flowers etc go into

I have got 2 bramley apple trees, 3 braeburn apple trees 2 egremont russet apple trees, a pear tree, 2 victoria plum trees, 1 Czar plum tree, 3 damson trees, 2 cambridge gage trees

4 raised beds will be used for runner beans, peas, garlic, onions

Various tubs for growing salad leaves, rocket, mizuna, courgettes

The south facing wall will have as many tomato plants as I can fit in

My kids and wife eat a lot of fruit and salad leaves so growing it ourselves saves a small fortune and you can't put a price on the better taste

Plums and damsons we don't eat get made in to jam
Cooking apples get made into chutney or swapped for other stuff that friends grow
Tomatoes and garlic get made into pasta sauces

Just waiting for the soil to warm up before cracking on again

hope to start this weekend by moving a few shrubs around and thinking of early seed sowing.

weather looks a bit grim

I agree with Delta.

Except thanks for the reminders to start off this year's pepper seeds now. Got some bell pepper and corno di toro seeds from last year dried on top of the fridge. The compost bin's crammed full, and it needs emptying at the bottom now, so the peppers will be an ideal opportunity to use some. I keep the seedlings indoors on the windowsill until we're more or less guaranteed double-figure overnight minima. Then they get repotted and put in the greenhouse.

I didn't bother with seedlings last spring, as all the previous year's plants survived the winter after being pruned and brought indoors. But a third year would be pushing it a bit. Also I have a long-term project of making the corno di toro peppers fatter by selecting seeds from the widest fruit each year.




Re getting unexpected plants from compost, I often get potatoes that way. In fact last year, as an experiment, I didn't use any seed potatoes. I just kept any green bits I had to cut off spuds during the winter, then stuck them in the ground in late spring. The crop was as good as anything I've ever had from seed potatoes, so will go that way again this year.

Anyone bought plants out of the pound shops? Was thinking of some strawberries, blueberries, blackberries etc to pot up. I just noticed the new season is in stock.

4 x 6 sets of various peppers & a set of 6 chilli seeds just potted.

Experimenting with "use by" dates this year.  The youngest known is from 2012.  One set's from 2004

Chilli seeds are from a packet of crushed chilli I bought from the Chinese cash & carry years ago.  The coriander seeds always work, so why not the chilli?

see what happens ..............

OAP fred but I like it!

Regarding natural fertiliser, stinging nettles have never let me down & what made my cherry toms so sweet & abundant last year.

Cut off their heads before they flower, about 6 inches from the top.  A shopping bag full should be enough.  Get home and crush / cut them up into a bucket and fill with water.  Leave outside in a warm place (away from any living area cos they'll stink tae fook!) and after 4 or 5 weeks you'll be good to go.  Mix around 10% into your water and top up the bucket as required.

I think it was Titchmarch who taught me that many moons ago.

Bought this months Kitchen Garden mag, 10 packets of seeds: Pea, Parsley, Courgette, Coriander, Dill, Basil, Lettuce mix, Chives, Tomato and Strawberry. Not bad for £4.99 including a decent read. This was bought in Tesco's btw, afaik they have different deals for different supermarkets.

top work fella

I am impressed

Anyone grow flowers - normally buy bedding and hanging basket flowers but decided to have a go at growing from seed. Bought two packets of mixed Cosmos and sowed about 120 seeds. Had them everywhere indoors as no greenhouse. Results were spectacular and was able to give loads away to friends and neighbours. Strong healthy plants which flowered right through to the beginning of November. Added bonus was how many bees, wasps and butterflies they attracted. Not going to plant so many this time as it got like the day of the triffids.

I grow most of my flowers Crystalhunt. Many varieties need warm temperatures to germinate and it's therefore very useful to have a heated propagator or two if you don't have a greenhouse.
I start most of them off end of February and March in trays and grow them on in a cold frame until the risk of overnight frost has gone. The main problem is running out of space.

I put some wild strawberries in my flower bed last year, knowing they'd be invasive.  They certainly are but I don't play croquet on my lawn, so sweet fruit invasions are welcome